The Breastfeeding Dilemma: Misdiagnosed TOTS or Just Ignoring their Existence?

Abstract

Parents have great expectations for motherhood. Unfortunately for many
mothers, breastfeeding becomes a toe-curling, painful experience because
of poor or missed diagnosis of tethered oral tissues also known as TOTS.
The majority TOTS are primarily a combination of tongue-ties, medically
known as ankyloglossia, and upper lip-ties. There are many unfortunate
barriers for mothers getting good sound advice and a diagnosis of tongueties
and lip-ties as the cause of their maternal and infant breastfeeding
difficulties. Scientific plausibility can and often should be substituted for the
concept of evidence-based knowledge when we look at the accumulated
experience, education, and clinical skills of many practitioners who have
been revising infants TOTs for years with great success. Revision these
tethered tissues is not just for breastfeeding, but the tethered tongue can also
affect many other body functions and systems.